March 7 & 8th

The Tastes of Tassie food festival on the banks of the Mersey River in Devonport - Sunday 8th March

The view from our caravan park spot as The Spirit of Tasmania departs for Melbourne

Us on the Spirit...we were trying to get mainland in the background but it was such a sunny day, you can't see it.

Bye bye Melbourne....early Sat. morning.

Loading the Spirit.

Prayers were answered! The crossing of the Bass Strait on The Spirit of Tasmania was a calm one...not a spot of seasickness in sight. Our 6am start was a bit of a shock to the system....pitch black still. But we made it to the dock with time to spare and settled in for the 10 hour journey. Time passed quickly...thanks to 3 movies in a row! So in all honesty, we didn't see much water. We decided to stay another night in Devonport as there was so much to do and becuase our caravan park spot was so nice....right on the ocean and river front with a superb view of the Spirit as she comes into dock and heads back to Melbourne. It surprised us both that Dport is a town of 25 ooo.....a city really. Went to the Church of Christ for the morning service and were reminded once again what a small world this is. We met a couple who are involved in the Christian Motorcycle Assoc. who know people we know in Gladstone! Gastronomical delights awaited us in the afternoon as 'Tastes of Tasmania' took over the banks of the Mersey River. Along with a couple of thousand other people we wondered from stall to stall in brilliant sunshine, looking for tasty morsels to devour. Yum! They had three live music stands and cooking demos on as well. Delightful! Took a tourist drive round town in the afternoon before a walk in the evening...there are heritage walking tracks all the way along the foreshore. Saw the Spirit come in and dock and unload. What a process! Camping rigs of every style and size pour off the boat, as do truck trailers, motorbikes, cars, pedestrians and bicycles. Quite a show.